Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Every day counts. One Night matters

That's the tag line for this show. Friday Night Lights. Do you watch this show? If you’re not, then shame on you. You’re really missing out.

Friday Night Lights is one of the most critically acclaimed shows on television. It’s also one of the most under watched shows on television. Why is that? Do the letters NBC mean anything to you? Yes, the same network that is responsible for the whole Conan/Leno (I'm totally Team CoCo) debacle is the same network behind Friday Night Lights. No wonder no one knows about it. NBC could care less about this show. It’s been moved around so much. Different days of the week, different times of night, and now to a completely different network. For the past two seasons, DirecTV has purchased the rights to air FNL first. Do you have DirecTV? Because I don’t. And I only know a handful of people who do. Cassie and I used to go watch it at Josh, Derrick and Nick's. And those boys, they would pretend like the didn't care about it, but we'd look over in the middle of an episode and they'd all be starring at the TV, mouths open, eyes glazed over. And they'd walk around singing the theme song. So what if they sang it, "I was raised in a devil town." They sang it nonetheless. And they asked us when we were coming over to watch the next episode. And when the next season came on. Those boys, they loved FNL. Then they moved so we don't watch it with them anymore. So who’s watching this show? Well, I will be. In April when it comes back to NBC. Yes, you read that correctly. The full season, which as in football is only 13 episodes long, airs on DircTV first before coming to NBC. Crazy, no? I applaud, I thank DirecTV for keeping this show afloat, because seriously, it’s amazing. It’s deserves so much better. It deserves so much more than NBC has given it. I don’t even know how to describe just how amazing it is. I jumped on as an avid watcher just before the second season came on. I’d seen a few episodes of the first season and really liked it so I went out and bought the first season on DVD to get caught up. And proceeded to watch all 22 episodes in one weekend. And yes, back then there were 22 episodes in the season. Now we're on the fourth season. I've, since the first, gotten a handful of friends and family hooked on it too. Will you be next? I so hope so. For your own sake.

Tami and Eric. Watch them. Adore them. You won’t see another marriage like this on television. So real. So natural. They are the best television couple ever. Sometimes, I feel like they’re really married.

And don’t forget about Julie, their oldest daughter. The connection between these three is tangible. And with parents as outspoken as hers, she can hold her own.

Tim Riggins. Trust, you will fall in love with Riggins. His scruffy, bad boy, could care less about anything ways are enduring. And look at him, how could you not love him. And wait until he delivers the "You look good. Like real good!" line to Lyla. You will melt.

Matt Saracen is adorable. Don't underestimate him in the beginning. He'll steal your heart when you're not looking.

I'm not going to go through all the characters. You'll have to figure each one out for yourself. But know that this show tackles every issue possible in high school: sex, drugs, alcohol, racism, and the pressure put on athletes and portrays them in a way that is real. It's seems real because these situations can and do actually happen. They don't sugarcoat them and they down glorify them either. And these are no Gossip Girl kids. Please. And this isn't the O.C. When you're watching FNL, you feel like you're actually watching real high school students. Not overprivileged drama queens. These kids, they actually wear the same outfit more than once throughout the series. They don't drive BMWs and Mercedes. They don't live in mansions. In fact, the town of Dillon isn't one of wealth at all. You see that. You see the good side and the bad side. You see the corruption within the school system and how football comes before everything in this town, even before academics. And the beautiful camera works adds to that feeling. Almost as if it's a documentary. It's brilliant.

So are you convinced yet? Are you on your way out to purchase or rent the DVDs? You must watch. I'm giving you fare warning. You have until April 30th to catch up. Go get the DVDs. Seasons 1-3. Watch them. Fall in love. And please, if you're watching The Bachelor or Jersey Shore instead of Friday Night Lights, you don't know what TV is. You have not lived yet. And if you think that's good TV, you've got something else coming for you.

Clear hearts. Full hearts. Can't lose.

"Give all of us gathered here tonight the strength to remember that life is so very fragile. We are all vulnerable and we will all, at some point in our lives, fall. We will all fall. We must carry this in our hearts: that what we have is special. That it can be taken from us and that when it is taken from us we will be tested. We will be tested to our very souls." -Coach Taylor

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About Me

Apparently this is now a food blog. The past 6+ years have been full of trial and error as I've been dedicated and determined to live a healthier lifestyle. In the process I've managed to lose 60 pounds and have conditioned myself to complete two half marathons. I don't claim to be an expert on anything I post, I just know what I've learned works for me. I've sporadically ventured into the world of clean eating and would love to do so more. That's not to say there won't be posts about cupcakes, cookies, ice cream, and every other dessert possible because I don't believe in completely depriving myself of those treats because then life would be so boring! So with that, let's eat!